


Forgiveness

by KMDWriterGrl



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-06
Updated: 2014-02-06
Packaged: 2018-01-11 10:46:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1172136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KMDWriterGrl/pseuds/KMDWriterGrl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>CJ and Danny hash out their differences after Danny publishes a story about Mandy’s inflammatory memo on the White House staff.  A post-ep for season 1, “Mandatory Minimums.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forgiveness

 “Mandy was only doing her job, so it’s time to let her out of the doghouse. CJ, that goes for Danny, too.” 

The President’s parting words echoed in her head as she left the residence and headed back to the West Wing. Although it was almost midnight, she knew Danny would still be haunting the press room. She popped her head in and, sure enough, found him sitting at his desk, pecking away at his computer. 

“Do you have a minute?”

It took him a moment to register her voice and when he finally did it was with a look of surprise. 

“Yeah.” 

“Can you … do you mind … let’s talk in my office, okay?”

“Okay.” Danny saved his file, rose, and followed her out the back door of the press room and down the corridor toward her office. 

Carol had gone home and there was no one else nearby, but she shut the door behind them all the same. Danny sat on the sofa, watching her with an inscrutable expression. 

CJ fidgeted with her hands. “I think we need to talk.”

“Okay.” 

“About the thing.”

“The thing.” Danny nodded. “That covers a lot of ground, CJ. You want to be more specific?”

“I think you know exactly what thing I’m referring to.”

“If you mean the thing that you’ve been mad at me about for the last week and a half, I’m not entirely sure what else there is to say. I’m not going to apologize for doing my job.”

“I know and I shouldn’t have asked you to. And I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you for it either.”

Danny raised an eyebrow, apparently quite amazed to have gotten that particular response out of her. “So does this mean that you’re apologizing to me?”

“I’m … going to try to explain why I got so mad at you. And that might lead to an apology. Can we start there?”

Danny nodded. “Yeah. We can start there. So …why DID you get so mad at me, CJ? I mean, I have a theory but since it’s you we’re talking about I could be a million miles off course.”

CJ paced the floor between her desk and the sofa where Danny was sitting. “I got mad at you because you were right. As much as I hate to admit it, the memo _was_ news by virtue of the fact that it was one of our own who wrote it, even if she hadn’t been working for us at that time. And you were also right that if you hadn’t run with it someone else would have … and it would have been someone who didn’t treat it as objectively as you did. You didn’t run the whole text of it … thank you for that, by the way … and you didn’t turn it into a round of gloating about all the things this administration is doing wrong.”

“I wouldn’t have done that.” 

“I know. But some of the others did. And that certainly didn’t make things any warmer or fuzzier around here. It’s been one setback after another and we can’t seem to catch a break. How much of that is our fault and how much is the current political climate is up for debate. That memo of Mandy’s … it felt like a sucker punch to the gut because it said _exactly_ how much of it is our fault. No one likes to hear about what they’ve been doing wrong and no one likes to be criticized and told how to do it right.  And the memo did both of those things.”

Danny nodded. “I know. It was pretty grim.”

“So you know, too, that she took a lot of personal shots … at Toby, at Josh, at Sam, at Leo.”

“And she took a lot at you.” He stared at CJ with new understanding. “And you let yourself start thinking that she was right. That’s what got you so upset.”

“She is right, Danny, in a lot of ways.” Her voice was low and bitter. “And you were right and Leo was too … I’m making amateur mistakes. I’m making more than my fair share. The goddam memo just felt like the big red arrow pointing at me that said ‘DOESN’T BELONG HERE.’”

“CJ …” Danny rose and stopped her mid-step by taking her by the shoulders. “Mandy never meant for you to see that memo. She’s humiliated and horrified that you did.”

“You talked to her?”

“None of the rest of you would.” He noticed CJ had the good grace to blush. “I wanted her side of the story. She told it. She was doing her job. When the President’s up for reelection in another two years someone on this staff is going to do the same thing for whoever challenges Bartlett. The only thing that Mandy did wrong was not tell you about it.”

“And that’s the second part of it.” CJ blew out a slow breath. “They blame me, Danny. They won’t say it outright, but they blame me for not having learned about it sooner … for not having _thought_ about it sooner. And maybe they should be mad … maybe that was an amateur mistake, too.”

“Hey.” Danny squeezed her shoulders. “Stop beating up on yourself, okay? You’ve never played at this at a national level … of course there’s going to be blunders and fuck-ups. That’s the way the game is played. It doesn’t mean that you don’t belong here. And if you’ve been going around thinking that’s what the Press Corps is thinking, you are way off base.”

“You can’t know that.” 

Danny tugged her over to the sofa and sat down next to her. “You think we all go into our own little bubbles to do our stories after you let us out of the briefings? No. We talk. A lot. everyone in that press room has an enormous amount of respect for you. They like your humor and style and sass. They like your convictions and your morals and your intellectualism. They like the rapport you have with us, which, I might add, is totally different from any other press secretary I’ve worked under … and I mean that in a good way. Do they get pissed off when you can’t give the kind of answers they want? Yeah, but that’s on them, not you. There is not one single person in that press room who thinks you aren’t qualified to be there.”

Even next to him, he felt her shudder with suppressed emotion. "You’ve really been eating yourself up over this, haven’t you?”

“I want to do this right, Danny." CJ blew out a long breath. "I want to do it _well_. I want to stop making mistakes and letting people down. I want to walk away from the podium every time knowing I’ve done the best job I can for my president.”

“You _are_ doing it well,” he assured her. “You can’t let Mandy’s memo make you think otherwise. She wrote it before she knew you and had had a chance to work with you. It means _nothing_.”

“But millions of Americans who follow the news cycle think it means _something_. They're looking at us and wondering what the hell the Gang Who Can’t Shoot Straight is doing in the Oval Office.”

Danny laughed a little. “Okay, first of all, who came up with that—Toby or Sam?”

“Toby.”

“Yeah, I thought so. And second of all, I think you are giving way too much credit to the average American if you think that’s the first, second, or even third thing on their mind when they read criticism about the White House. They give it two minutes of attention and they're on to the next thing. The only people keeping score are the vindictive sons-of-bitches in the district who are trying to rack up tally marks against the White House. Everyone is so busy living their own lives that I guarantee they’re not scrutinizing yours.”

CJ blew out a deep, shuddering breath and sank back against the couch cushions. Danny leaned back with her, his fingers moving gently up and down her wrist, tracing her pulse points. 

“You’ve been carrying that around for way too long,” he said softly. “I’m sorry you felt that way. And I’m sorry if I ever said anything to make you feel that way. I’m too blunt for my own good sometimes … and I took that shot at you earlier because I was angry at you for punishing me.”

“I shouldn’t have been punishing you,” CJ replied. “I’m sorry for that. It was immature and …” she grimaced, “… it was amateurish. I won’t make that mistake again.” She gave him a small smile. "Was that enough of an apology for you?”

“Well, I mean, you haven’t grabbed me and kissed me for almost two weeks now so I wouldn't mind...you know, as long as we're making up."Danny offered a cheeky grin. 

“Sure, why not? Although I have to admit that I really liked it the time you grabbed me.”

“How about neither of us does any grabbing tonight,” Danny said. “Let’s make this one a mutually agreed upon kiss.” He cupped the side of her face, leaned in close, and met her lips with his, keeping the kiss soft and very tender. 

CJ laid her hands against his chest and leaned into him, returning the kiss softly at first, and then with a hunger that shocked both of them. By the time she broke the kiss, they were both gasping for air. 

“That’s one hell of an apology,” Danny said, a little shell-shocked. “I’m going to have to start doing more things to piss you off.”

“Why don’t you drive me home?” CJ murmured impulsively, leaning forward to kiss him again. “Drive me home and I can ‘apologize’ to you more when we get there.”

“Or we can stay right here and finish this now,” Danny replied hopefully. 

“I want to be at home,” she said. “And I don’t care whether it’s your home or mine. Let’s just get out of here so I won't have to feel guilty about fraternizing with you at work.”

“Just let me get my coat.” Danny leapt up and made a beeline for the press room. He was back in less than five minutes, just time enough for her to have gathered her things. “Let’s get the hell out of dodge,” he replied. 

It was a short car ride and Danny was glad of it because he didn’t want CJ to have enough time to start over-thinking and change her mind. It reassured him, though, when she reached for his hand. Realizing the danger in allowing him to drive one-handed, she placed it on his thigh instead, where he felt the heat from her palm like a blazing sun. 

His house was small but it was entirely his, bought and paid for, and he kept it neat on the inside and in good repair on the outside. Nothing to be ashamed of here. He ushered CJ inside, took her coat, and watched out of the corner of his eye as she wandered the living room, studying the entire back wall of shelving units devoted to his books, journals, photo albums, and the occasional knick-knack from a trip abroad.

“Wow, Danny,” she said, studying a sculpture of a Southwest spirit bear carved in obsidian. “I hadn’t realized you’d traveled so much.”

“I do go places other than the White House,” he said cheerfully. He set aside the stack of mail he’d been thumbing through, plugged his cell phone in to charge (setting it to vibrate while he was at it), did the same with his laptop, and studied the wine rack on the counter to see if there was anything that looked appealing. “Do you want some wine?”

She studied the clock, debating, and then realized that with her car still in the parking lot at the White House she wasn’t going anywhere else tonight. Unless Danny decided to drive her home and then pick her up again in the morning, she’d be staying the night here, a thought which sent alternating lightning bolts of panic and pleasure through her stomach. She calmed herself with the knowledge that she had her go-bag with her, which meant she had clothing, a toothbrush, and anything else that she needed, including a charger for her phone and a novel that she hasn’t touched in weeks in the backseat of his car. 

“Okay,” she replied. She knew her voice was a little unsteady. “That sounds good. I’m just going to go get my bag out of the car.”

Danny came out of the kitchen and laid his hands on her shoulders. “I can take you home later if you want,” he said gently. “You don’t have to stay if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“No, I …” She blew out an unsteady breath. “I don’t know what I want to do yet. But better to have my stuff inside than make you run out to the car to get it if I need it, right?”

He squeezed her shoulders. “Do whatever makes you feel comfortable. I’m going to open some wine. Merlot okay?”

“Yeah. Merlot is fine.” She picked up his keys and headed out to the car. 

Danny’s neighborhood was small and quiet, tucked far enough away from the lights of the city that she could actually see the stars. She could only faintly hear the traffic and the air smelled clean and brisk. Other than the occasional dog barking, it was quiet and peaceful, a place where, she was sure, he could sit on his porch with a beer and feel perfectly safe from the muggers and crazies of the city. He could probably even sleep with his windows open in the summer. 

She said as much to Danny when she came back in. He laughed and handed her a glass of wine. “I do, on occasion, sit on the porch and stargaze, but I’m not quite brave enough to try sleeping with the windows open. We are still in DC, after all.” 

“Can we sit out and stargaze right now?”

Danny looked surprised, then pleased. “Sure. Come on.” He unlocked the heavy sliding glass door that was so common in older houses and stepped out onto the porch. It was small, like the rest of the house, but well cared for. There were two Adirondack chairs with a small table between them. Danny set his wine down, sank into one of the chairs, and patted the other. 

“It’s a little chilly.” He turned his face up to the night sky, looking for constellations with no real hope of finding any. “Let me know when you get cold.”

CJ didn’t answer him and that was fine—he knew she was nerving herself up, that the inner battle between Claudia, the woman and CJ, the Press Secretary was still going steady inside her head and heart. He didn’t say anything to try to persuade her that this was okay—it wouldn’t be worthwhile to him to be with her if he had to talk her into it—but he did lay a hand on her wrist and stroke the inside of her arm with his fingertips. 

“You’re really good to me, Danny,” she finally said, "even though I spent the better part of two weeks being an absolute jerk. I feel really bad about that.”

“It happens,” he said, turning his head to look at her. “Our jobs aren’t easy and they sometimes involve interacting with each other in ways that are not conducive to a friendship. That said, though, I appreciate the apology.”

“I don’t want you to feel like I’m …” She thought for a moment. “…using you as a punching bag. I wasn’t trying to. I’m just having a hard time.”

“I know you are.” He turned toward her, still stroking her arm. “I’m sorry for that. And my job is sometimes going to make your life a hell of a lot harder. But I’ll try to keep those times to a minimum, okay?” He laid a hand on her cheek. “You’re so much stronger and braver and better than you think you are, CJ. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

He leaned forward to kiss her, wanting to know if she’d close the distance between them, and was happy when she did. Their lips met, brushed, and then came together insistently. The arms of the chairs were in the way, so Danny got to his feet, pulling her along with him, and drew her in, his arms coming around her as if they were made to do so. She made a soft sound against his lips, something between a moan and a sigh, and she sank against him, really relaxing for the first time that night. 

“Danny,” she murmured against his mouth. “Let’s go inside. Upstairs.”

He pulled back just enough to see her face. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Her hand rose to the side of his face, brushed across his cheekbone, wound its way into his hair. “I want this with you.”

He drew her close again, a little frightened by how intensely he wanted her, and kissed her deeply, his hands sliding to the small of her back to mold her to him. “You don’t know how much I’ve wanted to hear you say that,” he whispered when he’d broken the kiss. 

“Let’s go.” She tugged at his hand, her eyes bright and hot with desire. “Take me to bed.”

They started pulling clothing off before they’d even reached his bedroom—her blazer, his sport jacket, his belt, her shoes, they all left a trail from the living room and up the stairs to his bedroom and his king-sized bed, which normally felt entirely too lonely and cold. 

Danny turned down the covers on the bed and plumped the pillows while she unbuttoned her blouse and removed her work trousers. 

“The thermostat’s in the bathroom for some ungodly illogical reason,” he said, reaching for the controls to turn up the heat. “Climb into bed to warm up. I’ll be right there.”

She climbed under the covers, shivering, and listened to the shower running very quickly—he was in and out in five minutes—and then water splashing in the sink. When he crawled under the covers with her a few minutes later, he was warm from a shower, still slightly damp, and tasted of minty toothpaste. 

“You want to hop in there to get warm?” he asked. “Or will I be enough to get you hot?”

“I think it might be more fun to share a shower with you later. Don’t you think?”

Danny grinned. “I like your thinking. Come here.” He pulled her close and kissed her. Her mouth was warm and she tasted like Merlot, which she had somehow remembered to bring upstairs in between shedding their clothing. She slid her leg between his and stretched herself out full length on top of him, her lips moving from his mouth to the side of his neck where she nipped enough to make his hips jerk. 

“Mmm, CJ,” he sighed, his hands roaming down the long line of her back to cup the perfect curve of her ass. “You’re going to make it very hard for me to seduce you if I can barely think straight.” 

“You can seduce me later,” she murmured. “I want to ride you first.”

He had thought it was impossible to get any harder than he all ready was, but CJ’s words proved him wrong. She straddled him and it was all he could do not to come right then and there. He ran his hands up and down her thighs, then nuzzled her in the same place with his beard, making her giggle and grab for his shoulders.

“Ticklish?” he asked, blowing warm breath against her inner thighs. “That’s good to know.”

“If you start a tickle war, so help me god …”

“Oh, no, sweetheart. Something else entirely.” He used his fingertips to nudge aside her panties and slide his fingers into the warmth of her center. “You’ve never had a guy with a beard eat you out before?”

“No,” she gasped, her hips jerking toward the thrust of his fingers. 

“Apparently it’s very pleasant … and VERY ticklish.” He kept stroking her, combining pressure with gentle caresses until her hips were moving continuously against his hand. “You like that, baby? Does it feel good?”

“Oh my god, Danny,” she moaned. “That’s so good.”

“It must be. You’re getting wetter.” He kissed the inside of her thigh, nipped lightly, and reveled in the sharp gasp it elicited. “Do you want me inside you?”

“Yes,” she managed. “Please, Danny.”

He uttered a deep, satisfied groan when CJ slid down onto him, so hot and wet he could barely stand it. 

“That’s my girl,” he murmured, taking hold of her hips. “That’s it, ride me if you want to.” He slid his fingers back inside, on her clit this time, and stroked slowly. 

She knew how to work him, that was for sure, moving her hips fast, then slow, varying the rhythm, responding to his body. She grabbed his shoulders when her own pleasure threatened to overwhelm her and held on hard, not willing to give in yet to what promised to be an explosive climax. Danny patiently continued to stroke her, varying his rhythm as well, whispering encouragement as she worked them both up to a jagged peak and very nearly over the top. 

“Come for me, sweetheart,” he urged, putting pressure on her clit and keeping it there. “I can feel you’re close.”

“I want you to come with me,” she panted, grabbing for his shoulders. 

“I will, baby, I promise you that.” He thrust his hips against her, making her gasp sharply. “I’m close, too.” He was close, perilously close, but he wanted to feel her explode, even just a half second before him, because feeling it from her would make his own orgasm that much more intense. “Grab it while it’s there.”

She pushed her hips against his, bore down on him, and fell off the edge of the intense peak of pleasure they’d been riding together. He felt her find her release, heard her cry out helplessly, and that was all it took for him to find his. He pulled her down to him and plunged his hands into her hair, groaning as wave after wave of molten sensation boiled through him. He dimly felt himself come inside of her in a hot gush, his hips pistoning.

He came back to himself, breathing hard, his hands still tangled in CJ’s hair. He heard her panting and automatically began stroking her hair, the back of her neck, using the corner of the sheet to wipe the sweat from her back and shoulders. 

“Are you still with me, sweetheart?” he asked, holding her close, feeling her entire body relax and melt into him.

“Oh, Danny,” she groaned, rolling off of him to snuggle up against his side. “Jesus Christ..." She raised a hand to her forehead. “You’ve got me shaking.”

He put a comforting arm around her and kissed her forehead. “Been awhile?”

“WAY too long. But I don’t think that had anything to do with it.” She reached out and touched his face. “You really know how to work me.”

“Likewise.” He closed his eyes and basked in the warmth of her touch. “I loved feeling you come like that.”

“Mmmm, I loved coming like that.” She asked, hopefully, “Can you do that again?”

Danny laughed and ran a hand down her hip. “I can do anything a second time. Sometimes a third if I’m really lucky.”

CJ settled back on the pillows with a sigh. “How about a nap first?”

“That sounds VERY good to me.” He turned onto his side and pulled CJ up against him when she turned onto hers, spooning against him with her back to his chest. He pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’ll see you in a little bit … for seconds.”

He heard the smile in her voice when she agreed, “For seconds.”    

END   

   


End file.
